Tourism sectors in Jamaica and Namibia report employment updates

In Jamaica, the tourism sector is recovering from the impact of Category Five Hurricane Melissa, which made landfall on October 28, 2025. Portfolio Minister Edmund Bartlett reported that most industry jobs have returned, noting that while the hurricane initially affected approximately 15,000 to 20,000 workers, the sector is stabilizing.

Approximately 15,000 hotel rooms were taken out of service following the storm. Of these, 6,000 have reopened, with the remaining 9,000 expected to be back on stream by the first quarter of 2027. The upcoming winter tourist season, scheduled to begin on December 15, is expected to operate at about 80 percent capacity, with the remaining capacity returning between January and April 2027.

In Namibia, Minister of Environment, Forestry and Tourism Indileni Daniel announced that the tourism sector has created over 57,000 jobs over the last five years, accounting for roughly 7.5 percent of total national employment. This includes over 14,000 youth employees.

The Namibian government is finalizing a national special tourism master plan to establish a tourism transformation fund. This initiative aims to support youth with skills and entrepreneurship opportunities across all 14 regions. Additionally, the ministry has supported 99 SMEs in participating in trade fairs, 60 percent of which were youth-owned.